Esher Saint

smashing post - thanks for this. felt the same....although when the cameras panned in on RM at 3-0 down he looked so hopelessly dejected I did feel a bit sorry for him. bottom line is, its all down to the owners to act quickly. right now they are more at fault than anyone for not taking the necessary action.

anyone watching game in Dubai - is there a Saints pub over here?

hi, just moved here....is there a place where Saints finds meet for games......ie. where are my fellow Saints watching the game tonight?

could have got Howe when it became obvious to everyone that Ralph had gone as far as he could could have got Dysche several months after that both proven, both would probably still be at Premiership Southampton now instead we end up with a Jones, Seles, RM shitshow. all entirely down to the bloke (whoever he is) in charge.

I see....that probably explains it even more then....a unique position where the guy thats put all the money in (Dragan) can't fire the guy thats clearly behind all the bad decisions (Ankerssen) So Dragon can not fire Ankerssen - all he can do is divest from the company that owns Saints. Not a great structure from Saints point of view. Russell Martin isn't a great manager. He seems like a decent enough fellow, but he is unadaptable, inflexible and dogmatic in his beliefs. In football, life, whatever - the most successful people can adapt and evolve to everything that changes around them.....RM lacks those necessary characteristics. Ankerssen seems the same as Martin - dogmatic, inflexible, etc. The difference though is Ankerssen seems to lack humility....I believe he has been the person behind most of the decisions that have resulted in the under-achievement we've seen last few years. I can't not see how we sustain a higher level with the current structure here.

interesting thks Manji.... Been thinking for a while that we have a unique problem at Saints - and it lies specifically in the chain of command between the owner (Dragan) and the man running the club (Ankerssen). Perhaps being naive and over-simplistic here, but lets say the chain of command goes like this....Owner - CEO - DOF - Manager - Players and the rest. Like most organisations, everything cascades from the top....the owner has put his cash in, he wants 1) a return on his investment eg. SFC needs to become worth more than the 200mio odd quid he paid for it 2) a legacy / something he can show off / be proud of. When neither of these things happen, the owner usually gets pissed off and makes changes - usually replacing the guy immediately below him. In other words 'Rasmus, why did you appoint Wilcox, and agree for him to appoint Nathan Jones, RM and everyone else associated with failing? You spannered it, you're out" This hasn't happened. So begs the question: Is the owner that bothered about getting a return on his investment or is SFC just a place to park some capital. Perhaps he just has unflappable belief that Ankerssen will eventually get things right. No idea, probably being very naive, just something I've pondered.

simple question - if you had the choice, what you you prefer, go up this season or play Pompey at Wembley in next years playoff final?

Highbury 84 - Heath. Nothing will ever come close to the plethora of negative emotions.....anger, devastation, frustration, injustice, sadness. That soon changed to fear walking out though. I was 10 years old and never seen grown men fighting before. Scrapping everywhere - literally everywhere, and it lasted what seemed like ages. It was frightening. Some seriously angry Saints fans that day - never seen anything on that scale since. After that, Norwich FAC 92, Fleck. We could have won it that year. Fkn fuming for days. And rather randomly, Harry Macguires last minute winner for Leicester about 5 years back....the rage I felt walking out was palpable.

well done Jazzfunk....takes balls and energy in equal measure running your own business. Hope its a great event and brings more punters in. Good luck

cracking bit of nostalj there....dont leave out terrace fave Mark Dennis leaving us for QPR after his dust up with Chrissy Nicholl. QPR at home that season all singing 'we want our psycho back.....'

anyone with spare ticket for Millwall game today can meet anywhere Stuart 07725 546554 (Esher Saint)

anyone with spare ticket can meet anywhere thats suits you Stuart 07725 546554 will pay over

i'll pay up for a ticket if any spare Stuart 07725 546554

esseffcee i'' take that ticket please STUART 07725 546554 can meet anywhere anytime that suits u

desperate for a ticket in Saints end if anyone has one.....will pay up

This the answer to this is clear as day and has been there all along. Jose Fonte Very smart guy, great character, leader, badges done, knows the club well. Fonte wanted to come back this season in a senior player capacity - and to help the youngsters on the pitch....he made this clear. Wilcox said no. Can you imagine how much better our back four would be (and team in general) with him leading? No idea how Wilcox could have come to the conclusion it would have been anything but a massive positive for the team / club all round. What has Russell Martin achieved in the game compared to Fonte? We can all see that Martin and Wilcox are just trying to copy Pep (like many clubs these days). Its embarrassing - how about have your own identity. As for Ankersen - seems he doesn't know what his 'football philosophy' is. The football under Nathan Jones and Russell Martin couldn't be more different (apart from both being sh1te).

I live in Esher, there's tons of Saints round these parts (North Surrey)....often see Saints shirts out and about. I come from So'ton but my kids have never lived there and are all Saints mad, travelling home and away.....very proud of that given most round here are Chelsea. Often its just a case of taking them to a few games as young nippers and they're hooked.

Been reading about this promising young boxer from Southampton - talk is he's destined for a world title further down the line. Love the fact he chosen 'The Saint' as name - clearly an SFC fan. Anything that puts The Saints on the map is good by me. Someone mentioned his brother is on our books as well - anyone know?

Hearing rumour JF maybe set for a role with us in Championship next season as player coach - similar to JT at Villa several years back. Personally I would welcome it. Proven leader and he's kept himself in good nick - still playing at top level for Lille. Interested to know general thoughts on this.

Those players deserve to play in an empty stadium every week. Club is sick from top to bottom. Ankerw*nker or whatever his name is is the worst person to ever walk into our football club....he's a story teller (a good one at that) and nothing more. He makes Branfoot and Lowe look like club legends. It has NEVER been this bad

thanks mate

you are 100% correct here.....with so little of the season left, he is the only man that can come in and quickly steady the ship - and more so not accept this lack of fight......besides, even if he couldn't save us, he'd be the perfect man to get us back up. May as well just get him in now given where we are.

Loved listening to this podcast here with my favourite Saints player ever. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/and-smith-must-score/id1562713103?i=1000549710134 The way he comes across is a real reflection of how he played.....a bit cocky, totally self assured and very much his own man. Had he not got injured in the quarter final reply agst Sheff Wed we would have won the cup that year - maybe even the double......thanks for that Mel Sterland.